Canary in the coal mine for Great Barrier Reef died in 2011

by dburdon

Daniel BurdonDaniel Burdon is APN Australian Regional Media's Canberra bureau reporter, covering federal parliament and politics. He was previously a rural and general news reporter at the Morning Bulletin in Rockhampton and worked in Alice Springs for the Centralian Advocate.

THE World Heritage Committee's concerns about the Great Barrier Reef raised in 2011 was the "canary in the coal mine" for the future of the reef, a Whitsunday tourism figure said in Canberra on Tuesday.

Tony Brown, from the Whitsunday Charter Boat Industry Association, said the warnings from the committee and the subsequent strategic assessment should be seen as a warning for more research.

Mr Brown joined local operator Tony Fontes and reef campaigners from the Australian Marine Conservation Society in Canberra for meetings with politicians with all major parties.

He said while the strategic assessments were a good step, the reality was that "no-one knew" what the overall impact of dredging projects could be, and how dredging might interact with other risks to the reef.